PlainPatent
USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

ZF Automotive Germany GmbH

USPTO PatentsView assignee record — 148 granted patents across 42 technology areas, active 2020–2025. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: B60R (VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR).

Explore the portfolio See the ranking
148
Total patents granted
42
CPC technology areas
15.5
Avg claims per patent
—
5-year filing velocity

The verdict

ZF holds 148 US patents across 42 technology areas — rank #2,634 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#2,634
of 50,000 US assignees by volume
Top 1%
by Innovation Score (69.5/100)
15.5
avg claims per patent

Portfolio overview

ZF Automotive Germany GmbH has been granted 148 US utility patents between 2020 and 2025, placing ZF Automotive Germany GmbH at rank #2,634 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 42 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 15.5 claims per patent with primary concentration in B60R (VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR). As a Foreign Corporation, ZF Automotive Germany GmbH is one of the more focused assignees in the PatentsView dataset. The composite Innovation Score of 69.5/100 blends portfolio volume, filing velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth into a single comparable measure drawn directly from USPTO PatentsView records.

Filing cadence tells the strategic story. Historical data spans 2020 through 2025, with 148 total grants over that period. Velocity comparisons require five years of historical filings to calibrate. The Foreign Corporation classification further shapes interpretation, since corporate, government, and individual filers pursue patents for materially different reasons.

Claim depth and technology breadth together indicate competitive posture. ZF Automotive Germany GmbH's 15.5 average claims per patent sits within the typical range for solid legal coverage without excessive prosecution cost, while a multi-domain presence across 42 subclasses balances depth with breadth. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark ZF Automotive Germany GmbH against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

How does ZF compare?

Granted US patents 2015–2025 versus the largest corporate holders — this company marked ◀

patents

What this shows ZF holds 148 patents — placing it at rank #2,634 overall, well behind the volume leaders but ahead of the tens of thousands of smaller assignees in the dataset.

Source USPTO PatentsView — granted utility patents As of 2015–2025

ZF's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

Composite of portfolio volume, filing velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth (0–100)

69 Top 1% higher than 99% of 50,000 US assignees

0–10: 687 US assignees (1%). Below this entry. 10–20: 2,527 US assignees (5%). Below this entry. 20–30: 13,162 US assignees (26%). Below this entry. 30–40: 15,294 US assignees (31%). Below this entry. 40–50: 11,491 US assignees (23%). Below this entry. 50–60: 5,058 US assignees (10%). Below this entry. 60–70: 1,537 US assignees (3%). This entry sits in this band. 70–80: 234 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. 80–90: 10 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. 90–100: 0 US assignees (0%). Above this entry. This assignee 0 100 every tracked assignee, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US assignees. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USPTO PatentsView — PlainPatent Innovation Score · 2015–2025

USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2020–2025

01020304050 202020212022202320242025 34
USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2020–2025

Grants by year

Teal-shaded recent years (2020–present) versus the 2020–2019 baseline. Full figures in the table below.

View data table
ZF Automotive Germany GmbH patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year Patents Granted Share of Period
2020 5 3.4%
2021 7 4.7%
2022 24 16.2%
2023 37 25.0%
2024 41 27.7%
2025 34 23.0%

Which technologies does ZF Automotive Germany GmbH patent most?

Top 15 of 42 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Moderate
Tech Breadth Multi-domain
Claim Depth Standard

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#2,634

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

69.5 out of 100

View all rankings →

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView — US granted patents 2015–2025

How is Innovation Score calculated?

Frequently Asked Questions

How many patents does ZF Automotive Germany GmbH hold?
ZF Automotive Germany GmbH holds 148 US granted patents filed between 2020 and 2025, spanning 42 technology areas.
What is ZF Automotive Germany GmbH's Innovation Score?
ZF Automotive Germany GmbH has an Innovation Score of 69.5 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).
What technology areas does ZF Automotive Germany GmbH focus on?
ZF Automotive Germany GmbH's top technology area is B60R (VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR) with 74 patents. The company has filed patents in 42 CPC subclasses total.
Is ZF Automotive Germany GmbH's patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?
Insufficient historical data is available to calculate a velocity trend for ZF Automotive Germany GmbH.
What does claim depth mean for ZF Automotive Germany GmbH's patents?
ZF Automotive Germany GmbH's patents average 15.5 claims each. This falls within the standard range, providing solid legal coverage.
How is the ZF Automotive Germany GmbH patent data sourced?
All patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering US granted utility patents from 2015 to 2025.

Learn More

How Innovation Score Works

Understand the four dimensions behind the composite score
How to Read Patent Data

Plain-English guide to CPC codes, claims, and metrics
Patent Moat Analysis

How companies use patents as competitive barriers

Explore the patent dataset

B60R technology

ZF Automotive Germany GmbH's primary CPC class — all holders and yearly trends
Top 50 patent holders

See where ZF Automotive Germany GmbH ranks among the largest US patent assignees
All technology classes

Browse every CPC technology area by patent activity
How the score works

The four dimensions behind the Innovation Score

Related

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Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView — official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the USPTO PatentsView database. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • USPTO PatentsView — official U.S. Patent and Trademark Office bulk patent data. patentsview.org
  • USPTO Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) — application status and file history. uspto.gov/patents/pair
  • USPTO Bulk Data Storage System — comprehensive patent text + claims dataset. bulkdata.uspto.gov
  • USPTO CPC Classification — Cooperative Patent Classification scheme for technology categorization. uspto.gov/cpc
  • SEC EDGAR — public filings cross-reference for assignee corporate entity matching. sec.gov/edgar
  • WIPO PATENTSCOPE — international patent context (related international filings). wipo.int/patentscope